Hour 14: Shadows Of His Dreams
Ferb awoken on the cold hard floor. "Ferb… ferb can you hear me?" Phineas's slurred voice echoed in his head. "Yeah, I can…" Ferb muttered and groggily stood up. He was back in the chamber with the stone slab. Looking at the slab, he winced, remembering that horrible vision he encountered. "Feerrb, tryyy looking for another one of those chambers, the daaagers should be innn them." Phineas's voice dragging in his mind. "Got it" Ferb muttered and slowly walked out of the chamber. He turned his head around, looking at the stone door on the far side of the chamber. "I'm sorry…" he whispered and left the room.
Exiting the chamber, he was in a long hallway. The windows rattled and lighting flashed. A vicious storm seemed to be brewing outside. Ferb walked slowly down the hall, his muscles tense and his heart pounding within his chest. Reaching the end of the hallway, there seemed to be something scrawled upon the doors leading out the hallway, Ferb flashed his candle and almost dropped it in fright.
The words, "TRYING TO RUN?" were splattered across the walls, the fresh blood dripping down the walls, Ferb burst through the door and seemed to have ended up in a room. The room was splattered with fresh blood, but gruesomely the blood seemed to be of different colours, grotesque shades of dark purple, blue and red smeared the walls and in the center of the room laid a wooden bed. By the side laid intricate tools of what seemed to be crude tattooing devices. With the tools, a withered book with some splatters of the liquid blood rested. Flipping the book open, it appeared to be frantic, demented writing, he could barely make one passage.
"More blood, must have more blood. Human blood shall strengthen the bond of priestess and emotion. I must feel their pain, I am ready"
"So this is…." Ferb gasped and dropped the diary. His head became woozy and he grabbed something to steady himself causing the tools to clatter to the ground. He slowly backed up, desperately trying to escape the swirling, heaving room. Suddenly, he felt he bumped into something, looking backwards, he screamed.
A lady who's hands where dyed in the same colours as the blood, wearing bloody, tattered robes stared at him but the most gruesome feature of them all is that her eyes were no longer there, they were replaced with a thick length of barbed wire, going through her eye socket in one end and one the other. 'Ruuuun!" Phineas's frantic voice slurred in Ferb's head. He rolled out of the way, frantically getting to the door, he tried pulling on it but a powerful force held the door shut. He spun around just in the nick of time before the lady could grab him, he dodged to one side and raised the camera, two flashes of light pierced the dark room and the lady shrieked in pain.
Ferb ran to the far side of the room, there seemed to be a door! He prayed that it would open and when he tugged the handle, it sprung open and Ferb dashed inside and slammed the door shut. The woman slammed on the door, screaming at him. Then there was silence. He slid onto the ground, panting. "I…I think I got away" Ferb muttered. "It's so dark, I can't see anything." Phineas's voice echoed within Ferb's head. "Hold on, let me see if there's a candle." Ferb soon found a candle resting on metal dish and he proceeded further into the room. Theer seemed to be more unlit candles on the wall and Ferb lit them in an attempt to illuminate the room. When he did, his blood froze within his very veins.
Within the room lay people on wooden beds, they were dead and bowls of what Ferb assumed to be their blood lay beside their bodies. Their throats and wrists were slit and Ferb knew it was an attempt to harvest their blood. Further in the room, there seemed to be wooden barrels of the same blood but this time, the blood had appeared to be dyed. Near the barrels, a table was there, and a withered but neatly written notebook was placed. Flipping through, it appeared to contain the gruesome details of the blood harvest.
"The harvesting of blood is an essential part to the Ritual Of Memories, blood is used in painting the tattoos on the priestess. Blood is said to have very strong soul properties, which are essential for the binding of priestess and emotions. Blood harvesting is usually taken place a few days before the actual ceremony, where slaves and prisoners will be taken to a chamber where their throats and wrists are slit to drain their blood."
"Phineas are you getting this" Ferb asked. "Yeah, I am, I'm recording this down as we speak." Right next to the notebook, lay another book this time giving details about Tattoo Maidens.
"Tattoo maidens are women who draw and bind tattoos to the priestess, this job is essential as the binding of the tattoo signifies how strong the connection of the priestess and the emotions she is carrying. Before Tattoo maidens are initiated, they must pierce their eyes to feel the pain that the priestess feels."
Suddenly, the door slammed open and Ferb saw the tattoo maiden, staring at him with a vicious smile, Ferb began searching frantically for a way out as the door before was blocked by the tattoo maiden. There was no way out, he had to fight her. Raising the camera, Ferb attempted to snap a photo of the Tattoo maiden but she merely dodged and emitted a wild screech, all the candles soon snuffed out and Ferb sank into darkness. He heart was pounding in his chest, his eye locked on the viewfinder, a figure sprung out from the corner of his eye and he pointed the camera. A brilliant flash erupted from the camera and the tattoo maiden began shrieking with anguish, Ferb continually flashed the camera till the camera lens burned a fiery red and a bolt of white light blasted from the lens, a final shriek then pure silence. What was left of the tattoo maiden was a gleaming dagger with the word "Sadness" etched into it. Ferb gasped, it was another one of the five daggers! "Ferb, you've found another dagger, that means we have one more to find, we should-" Phineas couldn't finish his sentence. Ferb suddenly stood frozen in fear, the air became chilly and menancing, a figure slid from the shadows, it was the priestess.
Ferb's voice was strangled within his throat, he tried fleeing but his legs wouldn't cooperate. "You… want to see…. her… don't you…" the priestess rasped. "No… no like this, Phineas and Candance needs me…" Ferb whispered. "You… cannot… run… from memories you never forget…" and then the priestess lunged. Ferb rolled forward and began sprinting, he had never been so terrified in his life, he could hear maniacal cackling behind getting ever closer. Words began forming across the walls, familiar voices called to him, "Ferb.. I miss you…" "Ferb… why don't you give mummy a hug…." "NO! NO! I'M SORRY! I'M SORRY! ITS ALL MY FAULT! ITS ALL MY FAULT! Ferb screamed clutching his ears. He opened a pair of double doors and saw he was back in the stone chamber, a women waited in front of him. It was the woman in beige, "Mom…." Ferb's voice was shaky, tears were forming within his eyes. "I've been… wanting to say something…." Ferb whispered. "Come here…" his mother spoke, opening her arms for an embrace. 'FERB NO!" A voice pierced his ears. "IT'S A TRICK, DON'T BE FOOLED! SHE'S JUST A MEMORY! YOU NEED TO LET GO! THE PRIESTESS IS TRYING TO TRICK YOU INTO THE SPIRIT WORLD!" Phineas yelled. Back in the real world, Phineas decided it was time to wake Ferb up, he slammed on a button and icy water doused Ferb's face but Ferb didn't awaken. "Oh no…" Phineas muttered as he saw a familiar tattoo slowly creeping up Ferb's face.